In: Finance
Analysis of an expansion project
Companies invest in expansion projects with the expectation of increasing the earnings of its business.
Consider the case of McFann Co.:
McFann Co. is considering an investment that will have the following sales, variable costs, and fixed operating costs:
Year 1 |
Year 2 |
Year 3 |
Year 4 |
|
---|---|---|---|---|
Unit sales | 4,200 | 4,100 | 4,300 | 4,400 |
Sales price | $29.82 | $30.00 | $30.31 | $33.19 |
Variable cost per unit | $12.15 | $13.45 | $14.02 | $14.55 |
Fixed operating costs except depreciation | $41,000 | $41,670 | $41,890 | $40,100 |
Accelerated depreciation rate | 33% | 45% | 15% | 7% |
1.This project will require an investment of $10,000 in new equipment. The equipment will have no salvage value at the end of the project’s four-year life. McFann pays a constant tax rate of 40%, and it has a weighted average cost of capital (WACC) of 11%. Determine what the project’s net present value (NPV) would be when using accelerated depreciation. (Note: Round your answer to the nearest whole dollar.)
$60,833
$52,898
$63,478
$47,608
2.Now determine what the project’s NPV would be when using straight-line depreciation. (Note: Round your answer to the nearest whole dollar.)
$52,727
$68,545
$65,909
$60,636
3.The (straight-line/accelerated) depreciation method will result in the highest NPV for the project.
4.No other firm would take on this project if McFann turns it down. How much should McFann reduce the NPV of this project if it discovered that this project would reduce one of its division’s net after-tax cash flows by $500 for each year of the four-year project? (Note: Round your answer to the nearest whole dollar.)
$1,706
$1,163
$1,318
$1,551
5.McFann spent $2,750 on a marketing study to estimate the number of units that it can sell each year. What should McFann do to take this information into account? a)The company does not need to do anything with the cost of the marketing study because the marketing study is a sunk cost.
b)Increase the NPV of the project $2,750.
c)Increase the amount of the initial investment by $2,750.